SHAVING CREAM BIRTHDAY

The SHAVING CREAM TECHNIQUE?? Have you ever tried it?? 

It's messy, and there is some clean-up when you're finished. But, oh, the happiness and satisfaction. Each and every single little piece you do is a unique work of art.

Recently, at my Stamp-In workshop, the girls had a messy, fun time of doing this technique. 

To a few of them, this was brand new. They'd never had the pleasure before. If it's your first time trying the shaving cream technique, it truly is like magic -- unfolding before your eyes! If you HAVE experienced it before, it is a renewal of the freshness of the marbelized paper you can create. 

Every time I do it, I make sheet after sheet after sheet. Just 'cause I can. And it's SO much fun.

Anyway, for my workshop, the girls made a few sheets from which they made two cards. The card below is the first card upon which they based one of their projects.

Isn't the marbling fun close-up??

This is the second sheet of paper I used in the same card. 

I don't like this one as much as the first one because, in my eyes, 

the pink is just a little too prominent.

Here are the two cards side by side. I chose the Sassy Salutations for my cards because it seems to blend so well with the chaos of the shaving cream background. To complement this chaotic feeling, I balanced it with some precision in the straight line of banners and the grid-like perfection of the embossed background. The black of the stamping as well as the thin mat of black helped also to tone down the sheer happiness of the shaving cream/sassy stamping combo. A nice contrast.

How would you like to try your hand at re-creating these cards. Well, get ready:

SUPPLIES:

Whisper White cardstock

Basic Black cardstock

Bermuda Bay cardstock

4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pieces of white cardstock

Choice of scraps of DSP that coordinate

Sassy Salutations stamp set

Black ink

Assorted reinkers to create the color combo shaving cream background you desire

Big Shot

Boho Chic Embossing Folder

Banner Punch

Circle Card Thinlets Banner

Stampin' Dimensionals

Shaving Cream (CREAM not gel!)

Styrofoam plate

Popsicle sticks

Lots of paper towels

INSTRUCTIONS:

Shaving Cream Technique:

Squirt a pile of shaving cream in the center of a styrofoam plate (easy for clean-up). Drop a few drops of each of your 3-4 reinker colors randomly over the shaving cream. Don't use too much ink at this point. 

With the popsicle stick, carefully drag it from dot to dot of reinker, marbling slightly as you go. When you are satisfied, after just a few strokes, lay your 4 1/4" x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock flat down on top of the marbled shaving cream. With your fingertips, press lightly all over the back of the paper, making sure all points of the paper are in good contact with the shaving cream. Lift it straight up. 

Have another blank sheet of cardstock ready, and place that directly on top of the shaving cream-covered piece you just lifted off. Rub these two pieces together. Peel them away from each other carefully. 

Now, with just one application of the marbled shaving cream, you have TWO pieces. Granted, the second one will not be as vibrant as the first one. But, often that second image is even more appealing in its subtleness than the more contrasty first copy. 

With paper towels, wipe the shaving cream residue from the paper and set them aside to dry completely before using them in a project. They dry fairly quickly.

You can make several copies from the same shaving cream before it becomes too muddy to be beautiful. You may need to add a drop or two of reinker to re-establish a color. And then re-marble. 

Once you have more mud than marble, it is easy to simply rinse off the plate in warm water and start anew.

OK. Now to the card.

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sheet of Bermuda Bay cardstock in half, creasing well with a bone folder.

Run a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot inside the Boho Chic embossing folder. Adhere this piece to the card base.

Adhere a 1" x 5 1/4" strip of coordinating polka dot DSP over the embossed piece, raised up from the center point of the card.

Onto the lower right portion of a 3" x 4" piece of reserved shaving cream paper, stamp "Happy Birthday" in black. Adhere this piece to a 3 1/4" x 4 1/4" piece of Basic Black cardstock. Attach this piece to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

From scraps of DSP, punch three banners with the Banner Punch to coordinate with the marbling colors. Mount them to a label created with the Circle Card Thinlets set from Whisper White cardstock. Add this string of banners to the upper left portion of the shaving cream piece with a couple Stampin' Dimensionals.

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I told you that the girls made TWO cards from this shaving cream technique session. In my next blog post, I will show that card to you, and give you the tutorial for creating them.

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In the meanwhile, I have this leftover piece of shaving cream marbled paper. What shall I create with it? Hmmmmm . . .

Marbled 

Smiles.